


You're Safe; I'll Protect You

by Typing_is_the_new_writing



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Fluffy, One Shot, Other, Parentlock, Sherlock being fatherly, Sweet, john catches sherlock, johnlock if you squint, sherlock denies things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 04:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4508403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typing_is_the_new_writing/pseuds/Typing_is_the_new_writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a kidnapped child is found after her parents commit suicide, nobody can get through to her, so they leave her alone. But when a thunderstorm happens, she's terrified. John and the police already left, so what is Sherlock to do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Safe; I'll Protect You

Children weren't Sherlock's thing. Children were John's thing. So when John left Sherlock alone at the crime scene (which happened to be a hotel) Sherlock was investigating at, he didn't mind. Except for the child.   
The poor little girl (approximately around four or five years of age) had been kidnapped. She was now scrunched up and crying in a corner since the police had arrived. No-one was able to successfully communicate with her, though, so it was an unannounced rule that no-one was to bother the girl, just find the kidnapper.   
The young girl was kidnapped just before her parents killed themselves.  
Currently, all of the officers were outside, trying to disperse the crowd that had gathered.   
Sherlock, John, and the girl were the only living occupants in the room, but then John left.   
That left Sherlock with a half-solved case and a sobbing child.   
He would have solved the case and, after leading the officers through it, left. Routine and typical.   
But it had been raining earlier. And, now, it seemed to turn into a thunderstorm.   
Then a streak of lightning painted the sky, and he heard a scream. Turning to look, now alert, Sherlock only saw the child.   
It seemed she was scared.   
Wait. What would John do in this situation? Something like...calm her perhaps? Comfort her?  
Yes, something like that.   
Slowly, Sherlock walked up to the sobbing girl. Then a flash of lightning raced to the ground. The girl shrunk and cowered.   
Well, it would make sense. Many children have irrational phobias if they don't know what the subject is, and her parents might not have told her what lightning was.  
Sherlock kneeled down to the girl's height, so as not to look frightening, and lightly tapped on the girl's shoulder.   
She sniffled. Once, twice. Then whipped around and squeezed the arm Sherlock used to touch her.   
Wait, what?  
It took a couple moments to register, but the information rang true.   
The girl was hugging him.   
'Okay,' he figured, 'she wants comfort. She's traumatised.'   
'Oh please help me before I do it...' He begged internally, hoping that telepathy was real and someone would come and take him away.   
....Nobody.  
He internally grimaced. 'Okay, bring it on'

Sherlock grabbed the child and hugged her closer to him 'she needs an adult role model, she needs comfort. This is one of the most primal ways to give comfort. Please work please stop crying'

She only hesitated for a moment, the squeezed tight around the world's only consulting detective.

"Thank you," the tiny little voice said.   
"It's okay," he heard his deep baritone answer reassuringly, despite his self-diagnosis of being a empathy-lacking, emotionless sociopath.

"What's your name?" He realised he didn't even know the girl's name.   
"Alyssa. I'm Alyssa. What's-ah!" She was cut off by a flash of lightning.

"Ok, Alyssa, Alyssa, my name is Sherlock. Do you know what that flash is?"  
"No. Please make it go away."  
"That's called lightning. It's an electrical charge running through space-" wait, no. Need to make it seem as friendly as possible. "Do you know when you shock your finger on something using electricity? Well this is just a bigger version of that. Nothing to be scared of. It won't hurt you."

"It....won't?"  
"No, Alyssa, you're perfectly safe. Everything's okay."  
"Are you sure?"   
"Yes, I'm sure. Nothing bad can happen to you. You're safe, you're protected." 

She looked up to Sherlock. "Thank you."   
"You're welcome." Sherlock smiled. A genuine smile.  
Alyssa kept hugging him. "I like your coat. It's nice."  
"Thank you. Now, do you think you want to wipe your face?"  
"Yeah. But, please don't leave,"  
"I won't leave, okay?" He smiled, giving a warm atmosphere. "I'm just going to wrap you in my coat and pick you up, and you can point me to the bathroom, okay?" He asked gently.   
"Okay."  
Sherlock pulled one of the sides of his opened Bellstaff, wrapped it around Alyssa, and hoisted her up.   
"Good, now which way is it?" The light little body on his hip pointed southward.

Sherlock followed Alyssa's instructions and they made it to the bathroom. He sat Alyssa on the counter and grabbed a flannel from the rack, wetted it, and gave it to the little girl.   
"Actually, can you do it?"she asked sheepishly.   
"Of course," came Sherlock's warm reply as he gently wiped her face.   
"There, all cleaned up. Do you feel a little better now?"   
"A little."  
"That's wonderful. Now, do you think we should go back to the police are so they can take care of you?"  
"I guess."

They turned back to the main room just as the officers started pouring in the room.   
"I have go now, okay?" He asked Alyssa.   
"Yeah."  
"Goodbye"  
"Bye, Sherlock"

Sherlock gave her one last hug and and walked over to Lestrade.   
"Sherlock! Who did this?"  
Sherlock quickly scanned the room, and apparently found good results. "The parents were into drugs. They wouldn't pay for something, though, so the dealer kidnapped their daughter for ransom. I'll bet they weren't counting on the parents killing themselves. I believe this is evidence of the local cartel at work. You already have one of the representatives in custody; I recommend you threaten to place the sentence on the worker, he will probably tell where the cartel is operating from. "  
"Good, good." Lestrade reassured as he wrote what Sherlock dictated.   
"My work is done here, so, John?" Sherlock turned and called for his loyal blogger.  
"Right here," John reported, appearing from the crowd right next to Sherlock. 

Later, back at Baker Street, the boys were in the sitting room, drinking tea.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence. A silence which set in during the cab ride and felt obliged to keep with the boys.

Finally, John set his tea down. "So, Sherlock, what about that girl, huh? What was her name again..?"  
"Alyssa."  
"Right. She seemed to really open up all of a sudden back there. Wasn't she not talking to ANYONE?"  
"Guess she got over her grief." Wow, Sherlock was feeling a little uncomfortable.   
"You know, children don't tend to do that all by themselves."   
"Maybe she was an exception."   
"Sherlock?"  
"Yes?"  
"I know what you did."   
"So what did I do, John?"  
"I saw you. You hugged her, comforted her."  
"I-"   
"Sherlock, stop. I know you did that, I saw it with my own eyes."  
"Where do you suppose she'll go, now that she's an orphan?"  
"Relatives, I guess. If none will take her in, she'll have to go up for adoption."  
Suddenly, Sherlock's mobile buzzed; a tell-tale sign of a text

Sherlock, little Alyssa doesn't have any relatives and keeps asking if you can be her dad. Do you want to take her in? -GL

"John?" Sherlock asked with uncertainty.  
"Yes?"  
"Do...you think....we could take her in?"  
"Sherlock?"  
"Yes?"  
"Of course."


End file.
